--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believe that the creative impulse is…" description: "\"I believe that the creative impulse is natural in all human beings, and that it is particularly powerful in children unless it is suppressed. Consequen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98b/joyce-carol-oates-344_art_i-believe-that-the-creative-impulse-is-n_2595320.jpg" --- # I believe that the creative impulse is natural in all… ![“I believe that the creative impulse is natural in all human beings, and that it is particularly powerful in children unless it is suppressed. Consequently, one is behaving normally and instinctively and healthily when one is creating - literature, art, music, or whatever. An excellent cook is also…” quote by Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98b/joyce-carol-oates-344_art_i-believe-that-the-creative-impulse-is-n_2595320.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98b/joyce-carol-oates-344_art_i-believe-that-the-creative-impulse-is-n_2595320.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98b/joyce-carol-oates-344_art_i-believe-that-the-creative-impulse-is-n_2595320.jpg) > “I believe that the creative impulse is natural in all human beings, and that it is particularly powerful in children unless it is suppressed. Consequently, one is behaving normally and instinctively and healthily when one is creating - literature, art, music, or whatever. An excellent cook is also creative! I am disturbed that a natural human inclination \[creative work\] should, by some Freudian turn of phrase, be considered compulsive - perhaps even pathological. To me this is a complete misreading of the human enterprise. One should also enjoy one's work, and look forward to it daily.” [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creativity is an innate human trait, especially vivid in children, and should be embraced rather than pathologized. **In simple terms:** Creativity is natural and healthy. Key Takeaway Cultivate and enjoy creative activities. Themes creativity human nature education Mood reflective optimistic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - teaching - parenting - art workshops - culinary arts - personal projects Key Concepts psychology development freud misreading Questions to Reflect On - How can we protect creative expression in schools? - What habits nurture daily creativity? A Different Perspective Creative drive can be stifled by cultural or institutional pressures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Creative work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-work/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Enterprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enterprise/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Misreading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misreading/) ## Related quotes > [Keeing busy" is the remedy for all the ills in America. It's also the means by which the creative impulse is destroyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/keeing-busy-is-the-remedy-for-all-the-ills-in-america-it-s-also-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [You gave me emotions that I read as love, little did I you cared about me no more than a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-smith/you-gave-me-emotions-that-i-read-as-love-little-did-i-you-cared-about/) [Mike Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-smith/) > [Kant argued that, where nature could be considered beautiful in her acts of destruction, human violence appeared instead as monstrous. However, a misreading of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-marshall/kant-argued-that-where-nature-could-be-considered-beautiful-in-her/) [Richard Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-marshall/) > [Los Angeles had no culture of its own, just a large collection of misreadings of the artistic histories of other, proper cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/los-angeles-had-no-culture-of-its-own-just-a-large-collection-of/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [“I’m sorry. I may have been misreading the signals. I thought … I sort of thought you’d been flirting with me. I didn’t say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/i-m-sorry-i-may-have-been-misreading-the-signals-i-thought-i-sort-of/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [In a language as idiomatically stressed as English, opportunities for misreadings are bound to arise. By a mere backward movement of stress, a verb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/in-a-language-as-idiomatically-stressed-as-english-opportunities-for/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Every reading is a misreading.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-rose/every-reading-is-a-misreading/) [Phyllis Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-rose/) > [“Fifteen love,' Chris said in a strong, clear voice as he set up for his next serve, and Elizabeth sensed that in addition to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-pascal/fifteen-love-chris-said-in-a-strong-clear-voice-as-he-set-up-for-his/) [Francine Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-pascal/) > [I think the Greek New Testament is the strongest and most successful misreading of a great prior text in the entire history of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-think-the-greek-new-testament-is-the-strongest-and-most-successful/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“Rob turned the rustling pages and grinned. 'Ach, she's writ here: "Oh, the dear Feegles ha' turned up again,"' he said. This met with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/rob-turned-the-rustling-pages-and-grinned-ach-she-s-writ-here-oh-the/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, of course, lays out the delegated, enumerated, and therefore limited powers of Congress. Only through a deliberate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-crane/article-i-section-8-of-the-constitution-of-course-lays-out-the/) [Ed Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-crane/) > [But, in the end, the books that surround me are the books that made me, through my reading (and misreading) of them; they fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramona-koval/but-in-the-end-the-books-that-surround-me-are-the-books-that-made-me/) [Ramona Koval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramona-koval/) > [I think it's a misreading of Dostoevsky to think of him as a programmatic theist. He's actually much closer to someone like William James.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-think-it-s-a-misreading-of-dostoevsky-to-think-of-him-as-a/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I have spent my life watching, not to see beyond the world, merely to see, great mystery, what is plainly before my eyes. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-have-spent-my-life-watching-not-to-see-beyond-the-world-merely-to/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Misreading is a big part of reading, the way in which the level of attention you're paying can lead to some interesting residue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/misreading-is-a-big-part-of-reading-the-way-in-which-the-level-of/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) ## More by Joyce Carol Oates > [“A woman who has lost her husband is invalid, thus an invalid. In”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-woman-who-has-lost-her-husband-is-invalid-thus-an-invalid-in/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Running! If there's any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can't think of what it might be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/running-if-there-s-any-activity-happier-more-exhilarating-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [You need so much energy and encouragement to write that if someone says something negative, some of that energy goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/you-need-so-much-energy-and-encouragement-to-write-that-if-someone/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I learned long ago that being Lewis Carroll was infinitely more exciting than being Alice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-learned-long-ago-that-being-lewis-carroll-was-infinitely-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Paradox: how do we know what we have failed to see because we have no language to express it, thus we cannot know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/paradox-how-do-we-know-what-we-have-failed-to-see-because-we-have-no/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [At all crucial moments in our lives we want to speak without knowing what to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/at-all-crucial-moments-in-our-lives-we-want-to-speak-without-knowing/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [A writer’s life is in his work, and that is the place to find him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-writer-s-life-is-in-his-work-and-that-is-the-place-to-find-him/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The challenge is to resist circumstances. Any idiot can be happy in a happy place, but moral courage is required to be happy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-challenge-is-to-resist-circumstances-any-idiot-can-be-happy-in-a/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The first sentence cant be written until the final sentence is written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-first-sentence-cant-be-written-until-the-final-sentence-is-written/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Did you know, Marianne: how by breaking the code that day, you broke it forever? For us all?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/did-you-know-marianne-how-by-breaking-the-code-that-day-you-broke-it/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > ['The Accursed' is very much a novel about social injustice as the consequence of the terrible, tragic division of classes - the exploitation not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-accursed-is-very-much-a-novel-about-social-injustice-as-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Keep a light, hopeful heart. But expect the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/keep-a-light-hopeful-heart-but-expect-the-worst/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-this-is-the-forbidden-truth-the-unspeakable-taboo-that-evil-is/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I don't think that writer's block exists really. I think that when you're trying to do something prematurely, it just won't come. Certain subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-don-t-think-that-writer-s-block-exists-really-i-think-that-when-you/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [... such speculation is like staring into the hot white sun. you know the sun is there but you can't see a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/such-speculation-is-like-staring-into-the-hot-white-sun-you-know-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) [Explore all 658 Joyce Carol Oates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I believe that the creative impulse is natural in all human beings, and that it is particularly powerful in children unless it is suppressed. Consequently, one is behaving normally and instinctively and healthily when one is creating - literature, art, music, or whatever. An excellent cook is also creative! I am disturbed that a natural human inclination [creative work] should, by some Freudian turn of phrase, be considered compulsive - perhaps even pathological. To me this is a complete misreading of the human enterprise. 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